Whether or not there were migrations into India, the word “Aryan” has been misused badly in discussions. The word is of Sanskrit origin and was limited to usage by one particular tribe of the numerous tribes in India -the Bharatas (from whom India’s other name of Bharat is derived). The word Aryan (meaning noble) was almost exclusively used by them to refer to themselves, though they occasionally did extend it to others (mentioned in Rig veda, the most ancient holy book of Hinduism - before 1500 BCE). As time passed and their cultural influence spread, more people called themselves Aryans including their enemies-the ancient Iranianians (The word Iran means the land of the Aryans). A large part of northern India was called Aryavarta - the home of the Aryans.All the oldest usages of the word Aryan are from Hindu scriptures, starting from the oldest book-the Rig veda.
Even today, the word Aryan is used to describe Sanskrit and all the languages derived from it (known as the Indo-Aryan languages). No people outside of the India-Iranian region have historically used or been called Aryans.
Agree. The word “Aryan” has been misused.
The people who invaded northern India were Herders from the Steppe—in what is now roughly Ukraine. They stood head and shoulders taller than everyone else from Europe to Asia. They were the first horse riders and the first charriot riders and maybe the first to use hammer maces in battle. I’ve read recently that much of the copper from the bronze age came from areas around the Ukraine. From my readings, they destroyed all prior vultures they encountered from the Indus valley to Stonehenge in England.
The people in India at the time of the invasions of the steppe people—were a mix of farmers from the middle east who came to India in roughly the 5th millenium bc...—and hunter gathereres.
The people of Europe were also a mix of western hunter gatherers and farmers from the middle east —who came there also in the +-5 millenium bc
The big difference between Europe and India vis a vis these steppe herders was that the steppe herders continued to mix with the locals in Europe. But they stopped mixing in India about 2000 years ago. The north half of india has more steppe herder dna than the southern half of india. Among the castes of India —the Brahmans have the highest amount of steppe herder dna.